The continued story of Anabelle Petersen’s embryo donation process
Tom presented the idea of using the Snowflakes program to me when our daughter was about a month old and I struggled with the thought of giving up on our remaining embryos. My doctor advised me to not make any decisions until my post pregnancy hormones got under control. One day I was in the shower crying for help with my decision when I heard a voice in my head saying “They are not yours, Anabelle. They are a gift from ME.” Louisa was just 6 weeks old, Lucas was barely 2, and Andy was almost 4 years old. I now had the answer I was seeking and the peace I was craving. My husband and I agreed to put our remaining embryos up for adoption and our journey as embryo donors began.
In December 2011 we received an e-mail with a possible match. The moment I started reading it I just knew it was them. We both cried and felt very strongly about this couple and made our decision to donate our embryos to them. They came to visit us in March 2012 when they came to San Diego to have the first embryo transfer. Amos was born in December 2012. When he was 16 months old they came again to visit and introduce Amos to us and to have another transfer. Enoch was later born in November 2014. In the meantime, we kept in touch, really in touch, and were surprised that our decision for an open adoption would be so sweet. The family that adopted our embryos and gave them life are wonderful people, so compassionate, grateful and just kind.
Amazingly, they just left San Diego last week. They were here for another embryo transfer since the one in April 2016 did not result in a pregnancy. I feel truly blessed to see them, spend time with them, to know them and to be able to see our biological kids alive. My peace rests on the fact that they are loved, nothing lacks, they are alive and well. The pain is still present, it will always be. We feel the pain of not being able to parent them, but it is ok, we live with it, we are aware of it. Our kids know they have brothers, call themselves brothers/sister and are so wanting this “other one” to be a girl. They said, “Wouldn’t it be so cool if they have a family just like us? Boy, Boy, girl?” J We’ll find out soon enough!
Anabelle Petersen was born and raised in Brazil and now lives in San Diego, CA, with her husband, 7 and 9-year-old sons, and 5-year-old daughter. Nightlight Christian Adoptions pioneered embryo adoption in 1997 with the creation of the Snowflakes embryo adoption program. It’s estimated there are over 600,000 embryos frozen in storage in the United States. Over 1,100 families have donated their remaining embryos through the Snowflakes program and over 470 babies have been born to their adoptive parents through successful Snowflakes placements. For more about the Snowflakes program, visit snowflakes.org.
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